Paintings of the Vernacular

With online file sharing so prevalent in our daily lives, it is no surprise to see artists such as Brendan Lott incorporating this phenomenon into their practice. In “Paintings of the Vernacular” at Baer Ridgeway Exhibitions, Lott culled images from the largest archive of all, the Internet, seeking out and finding scenes of the quirky and outlandish. Working with found images that were once private and shared amongst family and friends is not a new practice. However, Lott expanded on the idea of appropriation by outsourcing his chosen images to China where they were transformed into highly realistic oil paintings. "These works began as an attempt to bring my practice in line with my life as a person living in 21st-century America -- wholly mediated, isolated, digital and decentralized, and devoid of manual labor or craft," Lott stated in his artist's statement. "I have no direct input into the development or manufacture of any product I consume, other than to consume it." Lott placed himself in the dual role of consumer and manager by gathering these images and organizing their final presentation.

Brendan Lott. Like Cages Full of Birds, Their Houses Are Full of Deceit, 2008; oil on canvas; 36 x 27 in. Courtesy of the Artist and Baer Ridgway Exhbitions, San Francisco.

Recently, Lott’s work has dealt with issues of narcissism surrounding amateur snapshot photography. In a previous exhibition at the gallery, Lott included Flash (2009), a compilation of self-portraits taken by adolescents posing in front of their mirrors for their Myspace profile picture. In Flash, vanity reigned while individuality was lost in the redundancy of the pose. Lott’s newest paintings expanded on this concept. Included were everyday images: a girl hugging a puppy and a group of friends sitting together on a couch. The more compelling images bordered on the bizarre: A young girl licked her bedpost in a stripper-esque pose, a strange older man wore a blonde wig with a pink bow while holding up a piece of chicken skin, and a woman in a multi-colored bathing suit and high heels covered her face with an ambiguous Asian mask. These images were somewhat comical, somewhat bizarre, and maybe even a bit melancholy. Regardless, all were undeniably intriguing.

Brendan Lott. The Chucklehead Arises At Dawn, 2009; oil on canvas; 27.5 x 36 in. Courtesy of the Artist and Baer Ridgway Exhibitions, San Francisco.

Collectively, these paintings suggested Lott was criticizing our belief in the distinctness of these images, and by extension, our belief that we are all unique. By removing his hand from the actual painting, he related to the removal of the individuality in the snapshots. Lott picked singular and provocative images that varied in content. However, once uploaded, their originality slipped away and their online identities became more and more indistinguishable.

Paintings of the Vernacular is on view at Eli Ridgway Gallery, in

San Francisco